TENNIS – AMERICAN third seed Jessica Pegula fought back from a set down and Aryna Sabalenka cruised into the fourth round of the US Open yesterday.
A day after Madison Keys saved five match points to stay alive, her compatriot Pegula recovered from a rocking opening set to down 2021 finalist Leylah Fernandez 1-6 6-4 6-3.
Pegula, the 2024 runner-up, has a shot at achieving her childhood dream of reaching the world number one ranking in Flushing and is one of three players who could dethrone Sabalenka. She will play Romanian Sorana Cirstea next.
Cirstea knocked out Italian 19th seed Jasmine Paolini in earlier action on the outer courts.
Sabalenka launched 10 aces to blaze past Uzbekistan’s Kamilla Rakhimova 6-3 6-4, pausing only to complain about the smell of cannabis on the court at Louis Armstrong Stadium in a comprehensive victory.
“I was like, ‘Guys, you can do whatever, you can smoke whatever, you can relax as much as you can, but please to not do it around the tennis courts’. It’s a bit tricky to handle that smell while you’re trying to compete at your best,” the Belarusian told reporters.
Ukraine’s 11th seed Marta Kostyuk beat Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-3 6-2, inching closer to punching her ticket for a maiden trip to the WTA Finals.
Iga Swiatek enjoyed a relatively drama-free 6-3 6-2 win over Argentina’s Nadia Podoroska, a rare appearance on the Grandstand for the 2022 champion.
Organisers opted to schedule Alex Eala on Louis Armstrong Stadium and the wildly popular Filipina sealed a comprehensive 6-1 6-4 victory over Ukraine’s Oleksandra Oliynykova to finish up the action in the day session.
Up next for her is close friend Iva Jovic, who got past Francesca Jones 6-4 6-4.
Elsewhere, French Open winner Mirra Andreeva took out Eva Lys 6-0 6-2, Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen beat Yulia Putintseva 6-4 2-6 6-1 and Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina eased past Jessica Bouzas Maneiro 6-2 6-4.
Learner Tien brought the curtain down on Gael Monfils’ Grand Slam career as the American youngster prevailed 6-3 6-4 6-3 in a clash of generations, before fans on the main showcourt rose to salute the French showman.
“It’s been a long ride. I came here in 2003 as a junior and here I am in 2026, thank you very much,” Monfils said.
“I felt all the love and I can tell you that you guys are my second-best crowd after Paris.”
Auger-Aliassime, a semi-finalist last year, took the opening set but was then swept away 6-7(5) 6-3 6-2 6-2 by Karen Khachanov after experiencing dizziness midway through the clash.
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